The Wasp — 1893 — page 524: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts four male figures with halos labeled as "saints"—Saint Fitch, Saint DeYoung, Saint Hiester, and Saint Hearst—apparently mocking newspaper editors or publishers as hypocritically sanctimonious. Below, a woman at a desk appears to be "purifying" press content, surrounded by what looks like editorial equipment. The accompanying verse mocks these "saints" for their censorious attitudes toward journalism, particularly regarding what content newspapers should publish. The satire targets newspaper proprietors who championed moral censorship while presumably engaging in sensationalism themselves. The poem references specific editors and their self-righteous campaigns to control press content, treating their moralistic crusades as pretentious and contradictory. The "Christmas" framing suggests seasonal hypocrisy.